Wiring device quick connect terminals



Sept. 4, 1956 H. D. WILLIAMS WIRING DEVICE QUICK CONNECT TERMINALS FiledJuly 27, 1955 [n yer; all? Herbert far/7.5 43 @JW 1 m #7925 AttorneyUnited States Patent WIRING DEVICE QUICK CONNECT TERMINALS Herbert D.Williams, Monroe, Conn., assignor to General Electric Company, acorporation of New York Application July 27, 1955, Serial No. 524,674

3 Claims. (Cl. 339-53) The present invention relates to wiring deviceshaving quick connect terminals and particularly to lampholders fordouble-ended electric discharge lamps, commonly known as fluorescentlamps.

In the past it has been the common practice to provide binding screwsfor making electrical connections between the contacts of a wiringdevice and the lead wires. This invention involves an elimination ofsuch binding screws and a substitution of quick connect terminals thatare designed to reduce the time necessary in wiring such a device.

The present invention is particularly concerned with a pivoting lockingbar which is used to clamp a pair of lead wires, one at a time, to theterminal ends of the contacts. A releasable latch means in the form of aspring member is also provided for engaging the free end of the lockingbar and holding it in its clamping position.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a wiring devicewith quick connect terminals having a pivoting locking bar for clampingthe lead wire to the terminal portion of the contact.

A further object of this invention is to provide a wiring device withquick connect terminals by using a pivoting locking bar for clamping thelead wires to the contact and by providing a releasable latchingmeansfor holding the bar in its clamping position.

My invention will be better understood from the following descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawing and its scope will bepointed out in the ap pended claims.

Figure l is a front elevational view of a fluorescent lampholderembodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the lower portion of the lampholder ofFigure 1 showing the detailsofthe quick connect terminals of thisinvention.

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the back of the lampholder of Figure1 with the cover and spacer member removed to show the action of thepivoting locking bar.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the locking bar in itsclamping position and held in place by the latching member.

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the lampholder of Figure 4 with theright-hand portion being cut away to show how the lead wire overlies theterminal end of the contact before the locking bar is brought intoaction.

Referring in detail to the drawing, Figure 1 shows a standard bi-pinfluorescent lampholder in which my invention has been incorporatedalthough it should be appreciated that the quick connect terminals ofthis invention have general utility in the wiring device art. Thislampholder comprises a recessed body member 11 with a back cover plate12 to form a hollow housing of suitable insulating material. A detailedexplanation of the construction of this lampholder may be found in theBryant Patent No. 2,262,091 which is assigned to the same assignee as isthe present invention. The front face of the body member 11 is providedat its upper end with a circular opening 13 that communicates with theinterior Patented Sept. 4, 1956 of the holder. A vertical partition 14formed centrally within the body member 11 has a split cylindricalembossment 15 centrally located within the circular opening 13. Avertical slot 16 at the top of the body member provides an openingthrough which a pair of vertically aligned contact members (not shown)on a lamp base may be inserted until the lower pin rests on the bottomedge of the circular opening 13. The present lampholder is provided witha pair of symmetrical contacts 17 for making electrical connection withthe contact pins extending from the end of the lamp. These contacts areseparated by a partition 14 and are provided at their upper ends withinwardly facing V-shaped notches 18 which are located adjacent theopposite sides of the embossment 15. Accordingly, after inserting thecontact pins of the lamp through the slot 16 until the lower pin restson the edge of the opening 13, a twisting force applied to the lamp willmove the contact pins against the contacts 17 to spread them apart untilthe contact pins slip into the V-shaped notches 18, which is the normallamp supporting position.

Looking at the open back of the lampholder of Figure 2 of the drawing,it will be seen that the contacts 17 have oppositely facing terminalends 20 which lie in a single plane that is parallel to the bottom wallof the holder. These terminal ends are bifurcated as at 21 for a reasonwhich will be explained hereinafter. The bottom wall of the housing isprovided with a pair of parallel wirereceiving grooves 22 in alignmentwith the terminal ends 20 of the contacts. A lead wire-receiving opening23 is formed in each groove 22 to be in alignment with the terminal ends20. The lower branch 21 of each terminal end 20 is seated in a slightrecess so that the lower edge of the slot formed by the bifurcation 21is flush with a flat surface 24 that intersects the lead wirereceivingopenings 23. A locking bar 25 of suitable insulating material is locatedon the surface 24 for pivotal movement into and out of engagement withthe terminal ends 20 of the contacts. One end of the bar 25 is roundedas at 26 to fit into the notch 27 formed on an interior side wall of thehousing so that the bar pivots within the notch 27 as the center to movein a plane perpendicular to the single plane of the terminal ends 20 ofthe contacts. The leading edge 28 of the bar has a pair of outwardextensions 29 on opposite ends thereof which are adapted to fit into theslot formed by the bifurcation 21 of each terminal end 20 of thecontacts. Accordingly, when the lead wire 19 is inserted through theopening 23 in the bottom wall of the housing, the bare end of the wirewill overlie the terminal end 20 as best seen at the right-hand side ofFigure 5. Then, when the locking bar is pivoted closed, the enlargement29 will wedge the wire into the slot formed by the bifurcation 21 tomake both a firm mechanical and electrical connection. The locking bar25 must be positively held in this clamping position so that areleasable latching means such as the spring member 30 is fixed at oneend in the housing with its opposite end 31 positioned to interfere withthe free pivotal movement of the locking bar. This end 31 of the springhas a bent portion which is deflected to the side as the locking barswings closed but which automatically snaps back to engage the swingingedge of the bar as it moves into the clamping position, as is best seenin Figure 4.

In the final assembly, a spacer 32 of suitable insulating material isplaced over the locking bar 25 and is held in place by the cover plate12. A screw fastener 33 extends through the opening 34 in the coverplate to be threaded in the hole 35 formed in the vertical partition 14of the body member. A pair of opposite windows 36 are formed in the sidewalls of the housing to receive the projections 37 on the opposite endsof the spacer 32 as will be readily understood by one skilled in thisart. Hence, the space between the surface 24 of the housing and thespacer 32 is in eflect a slotted opening in the bottom wall of thehousing for receiving the pivoting locking bar 25. When the locking bar25 is not in its clamping position in the holder and held in place bythe latching member 30, the bar is free to be separated from the holderaltogether. The spacer 32 is provided with a pair of notches 40 inalignment with the wire-receiving apertures 23 of the housing so thatthe lead Wires will take the position as shown at the right-hand side ofFigure 5 when they are inserted in the housing. It is contemplated thateither this lampholder will be delivered from the factory with leadwires connected therein or the lead wires will be installed by thefluorescent lamps fixture manufacturer. would be shipped separately fromthe lampholder and would be installed by the fixture manufacturer whenthe lead wires are to be connected to the holder.

Accordingly, having described my invention of a novel quick connectterminal means for a fluorescent lampholder, it will be readilyappreciated that this invention is both simple in design and reliable inoperation and that it represents a marked advantage in wiring time overthe conventional binding screws.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this artand it is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is notlimited to the particular embodiments disclosed but that it is intendedto cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope ofthis invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. An electrical wiring device comprising a recessed body member and acover plate to form a hollow housing having a pair of contact members,the terminal end of each contact being arranged in a single planeparallel to and adjacent one Wall of the body member, a pair of leadwire-receiving openings in said one wall to be in alignment with theterminal ends of the contacts, a slotted opening in said wall, and apivoting locking bar arranged in the slotted opening to move in a planeperpendicular to the plane of the terminal ends of the contacts, thesaid bar having a rounded end fitted in a notch formed in the interiorof the housing, the said terminal ends of the contacts being bifurcatedand the leading edge of the said locking bar having a pair of extensionsso that when a lead wire is inserted through the openings in the saidWall of the housing, said extensions will engage the wires in thebifurcated ends of the contacts when the locking bar is pivoted to theclamping position, and a releasable latching member within the housingand engageable with In that event, the locking bar 25 4 the free end ofthe locking bar to hold the said bar in this clamping position.

2. A fluorescent lampholder comprising a recessed body member and acover plate forming a hollow housing having a pair of contact members,the terminal end of each contact being bifurcated and arranged in acommon plane parallel to and adjacent the bottom wall of the housing, apair of lead wire-receiving openings in said bottom wall in alignmentwith the terminal ends of the contacts, a slotted opening in said bottomwall for receiving a pivoting locking bar which is adapted to move in aplane perpendicular to the plane of the terminal ends of the contacts,the said locking bar being pivoted from an interior wall surface of thehousing and having a pair of extensions on the leading edge of the barso that when a lead wire is inserted through the opening in the bottomwall of the housing, the locking bar may be closed over the wire so thatthe extensions of the bar will force the wire into the bifurcated endsof the con tacts, and a releasable latching member within the housingand engageable with the free end of the locking bar to hold the said barin this clamping position, a spacer member supported from the side Wallsof the housing to form one side of the said slotted opening thatreceives the pivoting locking bar, the said cover plate serving to holdthe spacer fixed in the housing.

3. An electrical wiring device comprising a hollow housing having atleast one contact member located therein, the terminal end of saidcontact being bifurcated and arranged near an opening in one wall of thehousing for receiving a lead wire, a pivoting locking bar arranged tomove in a perpendicular plane to the plane of the said terminal end, anda releasable latching spring for holding the said bar against theterminal end of the contact, the leading edge of said locking ba-rhaving an extension so that when a lead wire is inserted through theopening in the housing to overlie the bifurcated end of the contact thelocking bar may be pivoted to clamp the wire into engagement with thesaid terminal while the said extension on the bar forces the Wirebetween the branches of the bifurcated end of the contact, the saidlatching spring serving to hold the said bar in this clamping position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,262,091 Bryant Nov. 11, 1941 2,475,243 Irrgang July 5, 1949 2,644,144Richardson June 30, 1953 2,704,832 Greenbaum Mar. 22, 1955 2,717,365Greenbaum Sept. 6, 1955

